Artfully Sent Cards

   Hey everyone! I have some more artwork to share with you today! I am hoping that I can make more time to get creative this last month of pregnancy, and maybe even start our little bundle's scrapbook to get ahead! We'll see, though! We still have a lot to do to prepare for our little man's arrival!

   Today I am sharing some cards that I made last month using the Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge. I have had a lot of fun playing with this cartridge lately, and I have also had a lot of greeting cards that needed to be sent out the last couple months! So here are a couple of the cards that I made and sent:

This one you might have seen already on my blog and/or other social media! I made this card using Blossom papers, matching cardstock, and the "Variety of Thanks" hostess stamp set from the Seasonal Expressions I idea book.

I made this Mother's Day card for my Grandma and mother-in-law last month. It was very quick and easy to put together, and I loved that I could make a matching envelope liner as well! The papers I used were scrap papers from my stash!

I recently purchased a paper pack from Michaels that had watercolor, ombre-style pattern papers in it! I love the possibility of this paper pack and knew I had to use it with some of the gorgeous cards from Artfully Sent! This card is a pocket-style card that I cut from black shimmer paper. I then backed the image with the ombre paper, and tucked a journaling card in the pocket to act as my "letter". The size was perfect for 4x6 photos, so I included recent photos of my nephew in the pocket, too, before sending it to my sister for Mother's Day.

Here's another version of the same card with different colors behind it! I sent this card with recent pictures of my niece to my other sister for Mother's Day. I used the left over scraps from the paper to make the envelope liner, and my ShinHan markers to color the sparkles to match the card!

I made 3 versions of this card since I had so many anniversaries to acknowledge last month. I used up scrap papers from my stash, and scraplifted the design from CTMH corporate.  I love the simple elegance of this card, and the fun combination of pattern papers that I used!

This card was quick and easy to make, but also the perfect card to send to my nephew for his birthday! I used a "Boyhood" paper pack that I have from DCWV to back the letters I then added black star stickers to the front to give it just a little added interest.

This is the inside of the card to my nephew. He really like pirates, so I had to include this fun paper in his card and as the envelope liner. The sentiment came from a Hero Arts stamp set I have in my stash!

   I hope you all enjoyed viewing these fun greeting cards! These were super fast and easy to put together, too! I made 8 cards in one sitting in less than a couple hours! It was also a great way to use up my scrap papers, and break out some new supplies! Plus the Artfully Sent cartridge makes it super easy to come up with stylish and trendy cards in just minutes!

   Have a great rest of your week, and if you have any questions on these projects or need to order you own Artfully Sent cartridge, please let me know! I would love to help you out! Until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Tuesday Tidbit: Artfully Sent Pocket Function

   It's already time for another Tuesday Tidbit! I am LOVING this warmer weather that we're having today! It's suppose to get up to 61 degrees here in Hastings today! Woohoo! I am hoping I can get my puppy out for a nice walk and soak up that sunshine!

   Today I want to share another awesome video demonstrating the Artfully Sent cricut cartridge! Today's video is about the Pocket function key! This is an awesome key for all of you Picture My Life scrapbookers! There are so many options and fun cards to create on this key! Check it out for yourself:

   Do you need to get your hands on your own Artfully Sent Collection? You can shop my Online Page now and get all of March's deals and steals as well! Have a great rest of your week, friends, and until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Tuesday Tidbit: Artfully Sent Sleeves

   It's Tuesday Tidbit time! Sorry I missed last week's post! We were out of town getting our Iowa house ready to put on the market! Little did we know that our realtor was going to sell it before we went live, though! Yay!!! That's one thing scratched off the super saturated to-do list!

   Today I want to share another awesome video demonstrating the Artfully Sent cricut cartridge! I can't get enough of these videos! I learn something new every time I watch them!

   This video is about the Sleeve function key! I love using the die cuts from this key! There's so many options and fun designs! Check it out for yourself:

   Do you need to get your hands on your own Artfully Sent Collection? You can shop my Online Page now and get all of March's deals and steals as well! Have a great rest of your week, friends, and until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Tuesday Tidbit: Sentiment Cards

   I am officially back from our Florida vacation, and all I can say is "BRRRRRRrrrrr". I wish I would have brought the warm sunshine back with me! When we boarded our flight in Orlando it was 63 degrees. By the time we landed in Chicago it was -5 degrees. Yeah talk about "shock"!

   It feels great to be back, though! I have a ton to do, of course, but there's something about sleeping in your own bed that's so comforting!

   Today's Tuesday Tidbit is another awesome video in the Artfully Sent series! Have you been enjoying these as much as I have? These videos are so helpful, and I love getting new ideas from all the artwork they show! So without delay, here's today's video demonstrating the "Sentiment" key on the Artfully Sent cartridge:

   What did you think of this latest video? Each time I see these I fall in love with this cartridge more and more!

   Do you need to get your hands on your own Artfully Sent Collection? You can shop my Online Page now and get all of February's deals and steals as well! Have a great rest of your week, friends, and until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Tuesday Tidbit: Scene Cards

   Welcome back to another Tuesday Tidbit! I am still in sunny Florida this week, but I will be back in Minnesota on Valentine's Day! I will try and bring the warm weather with me, northern friends!

   Today's Tidbit features another amazing Artfully Sent video, but this time we're exploring the Scene Card function key! Here's Monica's video from CTMH:

  
   Don't these look awesome? These types of cards are really "trendy" right now, and you can see that on Pinterest and other crafty online forums! Who knew it could be so easy, though!?!!?

   This cartridge is available now for anyone looking to add it to their collection. Simply shop on my Online Page, and you can get yours today! I hope you've enjoyed these fun videos showing off the amazing cards in Artfully Sent! Make time to get crafty this week, and until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Tuesday Tidbit: Pop-up Cards

   Hello from Florida! It's another Tuesday Tidbit time, and I wanted to share another awesome video with you showcasing the Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge!

   Have you had a chance to play with the cartridge yet? One of my favorite features on this cartridge is the Pop-up card button! These cards are amazing and so easy to make! You're going to love this video showing off the Pop-up feature! Check it out:

  
   Sooooo fun! I love these super cute cards! Which one is your favorite? I think I need to make a bunch of these to have on hand at all times! :) If you need one of these Cricut cartridges for yourself, visit my Online Shop today and start shopping! Have a wonderful day, friends, and make time to get crafty! Until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Tuesday Tidbit: Artfully Sent Basics

   Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today I wanted to share with you a video that CTMH did about the new Cricut cartridge, "Artfully Sent". If you haven't had a chance to check this out yet, you need to! This cartridge is so much fun to play with! Here are some Artfully Sent basics for you today:

   I just love this cartridge! Would you like to get this Cricut collection for yourself? It's easy!! Shop my Online Page today, and get this amazing cartridge straight to your doorstep! Have a wonderful rest of your day, everyone, and hope you can make time to get crafty! Until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Cricut Weekend

   Thank goodness it's Saturday, right?? I hope you all had a wonderful week! It's been cold cold cold up here so I have spent most of the week indoors trying to stay warm!

   I also have been trying to catch up on all the projects and artwork that I want to show all of you! Do you ever start a project list?? I have a check list for projects I want to complete, and I swear it grows every day!

   The last two weeks, though, I have been able to make more creative time, and am starting to cross off projects from my crazy to-do list!

   Today I want to share with you the project we created during last week's Crafting with Cricut class! This was a super fun project to design! I knew going into my creative process that I wanted to combine Artbooking and Artfully sent on one project, but I wasn't sure how I was going to tackle that.

   I decided to use the super cute Christmas tree pop-up card from Artfully Sent, and the background and icons from the Artbooking cartridge! I paired those die-cuts with the Yuletide Carol paper pack and matching Complements to get a super cute Christmas display!

Full display layout

   I was really pleased with how this turned out, but I have to be honest. I designed and made it in less than an hour because I was sleep deprived and really didn't think about it. Sometimes I think that coming up with a new project is way easier if you stop thinking about it and just start doing. So that's what I did, and I love how it turned out!

Close-up of the tree cut from the Pop-up card from the Artfully Sent cartridge

Close-up of the deer from the Artbooking cartridge

Close-up of the top of the display layout showing the Yuletide papers and Complements

   Are you wondering how I cut the border around the Yuletide cream paper? Well let me share a little Cricut Craft Room secret.....you can take an image and choose what you want to cut from it by selecting "Hide Contour".

Close-up of the gold shimmer trim under the Artbooking overlay border

   The image I started with was the overlay from the travel mini-album on the Artbooking cartridge! Then I selected "Hide Contour", and selected all the clouds and airplanes to tell CCR not to cut them. This left me with just the border to cut out! I love this trick! Definitely try this....the possibilities are endless!

Overlay I started with in CCR

Select the image and the "Hide Contour" button will show up on the bottom left-side

When you select the images you don't want to cut they show up grey. Then when you hit exit, the images will fill in solid and not cut. This is my favorite trick ever!

Display layout in the Colonial White Shadow Box frame from Close to My Heart

   Isn't this the best?? If you like this tip, you should sign up for my Candid Cricut Club and attend my next Crafting with Cricut class! We get to play with fun tips and tricks like this every time! It's the best!

   If you have any questions, please let me know! I would love to help you make this fun shadow box display for yourself! Have a great rest of your day and enjoy your weekend! I hope you get time to be crafty this weekend, and until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Happy Halloween!

   Happy Halloween to all you ghouls and goblins out there! We finished setting up the fog machine and strobe lights for tonight's trick-or-treat, and I cannot wait to see what the kids think of the house this year! We did a few new things and brought back a few old ones, but I think it turned out pretty awesome!

   I cannot believe it's the end of the month already, though! Compared to the last couple weeks today feels like mid-fall, too! So I hope you all are bundled for tonight! Brrr!

   Tonight is the last chance everyone has to take advantage of all of October's awesome specials from Close to My Heart! So make sure and log-in to the online shopping site to get your own treats today!

October SOTM: Home for the Holidays:

   Today is the last day to get this super cute stamp-of-the-month featuring some adorable holiday themed images! You can get this stamp set for $17.95 today or with any $50 purchase this stamp set is only $5! I love this set, and think the little bear is the cutest! Here's some artwork featuring the October SOTM:

Ribbon Revelry Promotion:

   The ribbon campaign this month was a huge hit and the chevron ribbon giveaway was out before the middle of the month! However, CTMH is a super awesome and generous company and decided not to stop there! 

   Instead they started giving away a SURPRISE ribbon spool with a qualifying purchase of $50! A couple of the orders my friends received had Burlap ribbon and Jute ribbon in them! Talk about a huge surprise! I love our Burlap ribbon!

   Each FREE ribbon spool has an original retail value of $6.95, but quantities are still going fast! So hurry and get your orders in to take advantage of your FREE ribbon today! 

The chevron spools have sold out, but there are still surprise ribbons included in your $50 purchase!

Cricut Club with FREE stamp sets: 

    October is your last chance to sign up for the Candid Cricut Club and qualify for 2 FREE Cricut compatible stamp sets with your purchase of the new Artfully Sent Cricut Collection!

   This awesome new online club will feature all four of the CTMH Cricut Collections and will have free downloads, tutorials, projects, and tips each month! You cannot go wrong with this FREE online workshop!

   Plus, there's a bonus giveaway! Sign up for my Candid Cricut Club anytime in October AND purchase the brand new Artfully Sent Cricut Collection, and you will be eligible to receive 2 Cricut Compatible Stamp sets of your choice!!!* It's an awesome deal, and the perfect time to take advantage of getting the new Cricut Collection today!

*This promotion is only good when you sign up and order through Karina McQuistan. No other orders from other consultants will be honored. Free stamps sets with purchase are any of the Cricut Compatible A or B-sized sets available on my Online Shopping Site. 

   I think that's everything to wrap up this awesome month! Have fun trick-or-treating tonight, everyone, and be safe! Happy Haunting and until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

October Love

    October is here and already filling up quickly! My 31st birthday is in a couple days, and I get to celebrate by being a Bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding (the same cousin who introduced me to CTMH 4 years ago)!!!! I cannot wait to celebrate with her and her almost-hubby on their special day! It's going to be beautiful, and I cannot wait to share it with them!

    I also have the much anticipated Halloween Home Decor workshop coming up, Croptoberfest, and our Annual Halloween display to set up outside! It's going to go fast, but I cannot wait! This month is always so much fun!

Our house after dark at last year's Halloween! We had Halloween music playing outside, a fog machine behind our tombstones, and each window had a strobe light in it, too! It was so much fun!

    A new month means new CTMH goodness to bring you, too! So let's jump in and get started with all your favorite Steals and Deals for the month!

October Stamp-of-the-Month: Home for the Holidays

    This month's SOTM is a holiday-themed, Cricut compatible stamp set that features super cute images that are perfect for your holiday projects this year (you can never start too early, right??)!! You can get this set for only $5 this month with any $50 purchase!

October Promotion: Ribbon Revelry

    During the month of October, with each qualifying purchase of $50 you are eligible to receive, as a special bonus, one of CTMH's exclusive chevron ribbons for FREE! Each chevron ribbon, Ruby or Outdoor Denim, has an original retail value of $6.95.

    So which ribbon will you get? It’s a surprise! Quantities are limited, so place your orders as early in the month as possible. Be sure to take advantage of this fantastic offer so you can enjoy embellishing your creations with your own surprise roll of bonus ribbon!

Candid Cricut Club

How would you like to be part of a special club that explores all the possibilities of all 4 of the CTMH Cricut Collections through tips, tricks, demonstrations, FREE workshops, and so much more? 

    If this sounds like an awesome deal to you, then sign up for my Candid Cricut Club starting this month! Simply fill out the form with your name and email address. Then in the message please write "Sign me up for the Candid Cricut Club"! I will add you to the list, and send you more information about the club via email!

    

     I am so excited for this new club! It's completely FREE to join, and will have lots of tutorials, projects, and other fun things to participate in each month! 

    Plus, there's a bonus giveaway that I am extending into October! Sign up for my Candid Cricut Club anytime in October AND purchase the brand new Artfully Sent Cricut Collection, and you will be eligible to receive 2 Cricut Compatible Stamp sets of your choice!!!*

*This promotion is only good when you sign up and order through Karina McQuistan. No other orders from other consultants will be honored. Free stamps sets with purchase are any of the Cricut Compatible A or B-sized sets available on my Online Shopping Site. 

 

Upcoming Workshops, Classes, & Crops:

Halloween Home Decor Class:

     On October 8th I will be having a Halloween Home Decor Class at my house in Hastings, MN! We will be making a Halloween "BOO" sign using the Scaredy Cat paper pack, Artbooking Cricut cartridge, and some fun Halloween stamp sets from CTMH! The cost of this workshop is only $16 and includes everything you need to complete this project! Here are a couple sneaks for you:

    

Croptoberfest

    Wooohoo! It's back! A special fall crop on October 25th at my house in Hastings, MN from 10AM-12AM (14 hours of un-interrupted crafting time):

    This year's Croptoberfest is completely FREE to attend! I will have prizes, challenges, and even a Fall make-n-take if you would like to participate! Even if you cannot stay all day, it's going to be an awesome day of crafting fun, so come join us!

     That's the scoop for October! Take advantage of these offers today by shopping my Online Site any time! If you have any questions or need help getting all your goodies, please let me know! Happy October to you all, and until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

End of September Review

    Another crazy month is in the books, folks; fall is officially here, the kids are settled back in school, and Halloween is staring us in the face! Man the time does fly!

    It is also the end of all the amazing steals and deals that September has to offer! You really don't want to miss out on all the amazing ways to score FREE CTMH products this month! 

September is National Stamping Month!!!

    All month long I have been sharing CTMH's inspirational projects using the #30yearsofhappy stamp set! This awesome C-sized stamp set contains 30 mini stamps that coordinate perfectly with any types of papers and themes you have in your stash! 

    Plus you can still get this stamp set for FREE when you place an order of $30 or more on any current retail-priced stamps!

     It's been an awesome 30 years of Jeanette Lynton, CTMH's founder and CEO, being in the industry, and what a perfect way to celebrate with us this month! 

     Make sure and get your FREE #30yearsofhappy stamp set before midnight tonight because after that these cute stamps are gone for good!

Candid Crafter's (yay new brand name!!!) Annual Anniversary Celebration

    September marks my 1 year anniversary of teaching CTMH workshops and classes!I have had such an amazing year meeting all of you and getting a chance to share my passion for papercrafting! I feel so blessed to have found this company, and to be a part of something that highlights relationships, memories, and personal growth! I absolutely love my job, and cannot wait to share another year with all of you!

     To celebrate this very important month I am offering my "Annual Anniversary Celebration Special" for anyone that places an order with me this month!

    This is the perfect month to take advantage of this special promotion, too, because there are so many other steals and deals that you can combine with my Anniversary special! 

September Stamp-of-the-Month: Family Is Forever

    This month's SOTM is a super cute 7 piece set called "Family Is Forever"! I love this stamp set! It's so versatile, and can work with so many different projects! You can get this awesome stamp set for only $5 this month with any purchase of $50 or more! Check out this cute stamp and some fun projects:

    Let's break this down in terms of all the FREE stuff you could get with your order this month:

Spend $50 to get the September SOTM                                                       FREEBIES                   

$30 out of the $50 spent on stamp sets of your choice              #30yearsofhappy stamp set ($13.95 value)

$20 out of the $50 on your fav CTMH products                                    Exclusive Ink Pad ($5.95 value)
                                                                                                             A-sized stamp set ($6.95 value)

Reached the $50 order total                                                               $5 SOTM special ($17.95 value)

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

$50 of your favorite products = $39.80 saved in FREE products                     

Upcoming Candid Cricut Club

How would you like to be part of a special club that explores all the possibilities of all 4 of the CTMH Cricut Collections through tips, tricks, demonstrations, FREE workshops, and so much more? 

    If this sounds like an awesome deal to you, then sign up for my Candid Cricut Club starting this month! Simply fill out the form with your name and email address. Then in the message please write "Sign me up for the Candid Cricut Club"! I will add you to the list, and send you more information about the club via email!

     I am so excited for this new club! It's completely FREE to join, and will have lots of tutorials, projects, and other fun things to participate in each month! 

    Plus, there's a bonus giveaway that I am extending into October! Sign up for my Candid Cricut Club anytime in September or October AND purchase the brand new Artfully Sent Cricut Collection, and you will be eligible to receive 2 Cricut Compatible Stamp sets of your choice!!!*

*This promotion is only good when you sign up and order through Karina McQuistan. No other orders from other consultants will be honored. Free stamps sets with purchase are any of the Cricut Compatible A or B-sized sets available on my Online Shopping Site. 

    You still have time to take advantage of all these amazing freebies and goodies this month! If you have any questions or need help placing your order, please do not hesitate to ask! I would love to help you maximize the goodies you have coming to you! Have fun planning your order, and until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Sunday Funday with Artfully Sent

   Happy Sunday, everyone! I am sitting here watching the Packers fail miserably at stopping the Lions from scoring. So I decided to post something fun and exciting instead!

    Have you all had a chance to look at the new Artfully Sent Cricut Collection yet? I LOVE this collection! I received mine in the mail last week while I was on vacation, but had to wait until yesterday to open it! It was killing me that it was sitting there waiting for me all week!

    This collection comes with some amazing new items:

• Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge with over 400 completed and unique projects fully designed and ready for assembly
• Over 700 images total including a full font, multiple project function keys, and matching envelopes with liners!
• 3 D-sized stamp sets: a coordinating font, a frames set, and a sentiments set
• a full pack of White Daisy Cardstock

    I like to think of this cartridge as the "Artbooking solution for card makers"! It's perfect for creating fun and interactive cards, tags, and so much more for all your crafting projects! Here are some of my favorite projects created from this cartridge so far:

Here are a couple examples of Pop-up cards and Background Overlay cards

Here are a couple more examples of cards: A Border edge Card and two Background Overlay cards!

Pop-up Card with Icon die-cut pieces that can be added for extra flair and fun!

A Swing card example with an add on liner for added detail!

A Build-a-Scene Card that has interactive layers and pieces that make fun and unique cards!

Another example of a Build-a-Scene card, but with a front flap instead of a Tri-fold.

An example of a Border Edge card that adds just a little added detail to your cards!

An example of a Sleeve card which can hold a 4x6 picture or other memorabilia!

Sleeve cards can also be sized down to fit gift cards and/or journaling tags! These are so fun!

An example of a Sentiment card backed with fun pattern and solid color cardstock pieces to make it pop!

Did you see that this cartridge also makes PML cards??? The left picture is a 4x6 PML card mini album, and on the right is a sleeve card with journaling in it!

Here are a couple other ways to use the images from the Artfully Sent cartridge. A coupe of the cards were cut down and added to a scrapbook page (left), and a treat box (right)! I love these cute details that are easy embellishments for all my projects!

The other amazing (and super helpful) thing about this cartridge are the matching envelope die-cuts and the matching liners that can be cut and added! I love this look so much, but have struggled to reproduce liners that look natural. This will be the perfect solution for me to get that completed and professional look to my handmade cards!

Here is another view of an envelope with a patterned paper liner, and some added stamping on the outside! So stinkin cute!

    Did you also know that this Wednesday, September 24th, I will be featuring this amazing new cartridge at a brand new Crafting with Cricut Class from 6-8pm!  We will be making a couple of the cards from the cartridge, and an envelope and liner to match!

    Since I just opened my cartridge yesterday, I am working on pictures, projects, and pricing for that workshop today! So stay tuned on my Facebook page for all those details to be added!

    If you're ready to order this awesome collection for yourself, visit my online shop and get yours today! Don't forget....when you purchase the Artfully Sent Cartridge from me this month, you get to choose 2 Cricut compatible stamp sets of your choice! It's an awesome deal to get started on some amazing projects! 

    I hope you enjoyed looking at these fun projects today, and that it has inspired you to get crafty today! If you have any questions or would like to sign up for the Cricut Class on Wednesday, let me know! I have plenty of room for more guests!

    Have a great rest of your day, everyone, and until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!